Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Great Barrier Island, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Great Barrier Aerodrome (GBZ), Great Barrier Island, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,727 miles (or 18,873 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base and Great Barrier Aerodrome, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base and Great Barrier Aerodrome. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE):

• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (meaning Istres-Le Tubé Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,364 miles (19,898 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Istres-Le Tubé Air Base", another name for QIE is "Base aérienne 125 Istres (BA 125)Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) Y-17".
• Sometime after World War II, until May 1958 Base Aérienne 125 was host to the Royal Air Force Liaison Party, that serviced transient British and Commonwealth military aircraft staging to and from the United Kingdom.
• The closest airport to Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) is Marseille Provence Airport (MRS), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) ESE of QIE.
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• Because of Istres-Le Tubé Air Base's relatively low elevation of 162 feet, planes can take off or land at Istres-Le Tubé Air Base at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.

Facts about Great Barrier Aerodrome (GBZ):

• Because of Great Barrier Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at Great Barrier Aerodrome at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• The furthest airport from Great Barrier Aerodrome (GBZ) is Málaga Airport (AGP), which is nearly antipodal to Great Barrier Aerodrome (meaning Great Barrier Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Málaga Airport), and is located 12,407 miles (19,967 kilometers) away in Málaga, Spain.
• Great Barrier Aerodrome (GBZ) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Great Barrier Aerodrome (GBZ) is Coromandel Aerodrome (CMV), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) S of GBZ.